Kerry Morrison and Rosie Hewitt, two proud Aboriginal women from Anna Bay, established Aged Care Angels and Disability Services Pty Ltd in 2011 as a support service for people in need.

From a band of two – Kerry, an aged care nurse, and Rosie, an accountant – the business now employs 65 staff in home care, domestic duties, respite and community access right across Port Stephens.

“We have grown out of our current office in Nelson Bay and will soon be looking to move to bigger premises,” Mrs Morrison said.

“Our area has also expanded to include Newcastle and Maitland. We are a registered NDIS service provider and continue to provide care for the elderly in their homes.”

Aged Care Angels has teamed up with Transformation Institute to assist with the training of staff following a business deal struck through Brett Grogan, a training services coordinator and formerly with the Newcastle Knights. 

Gayle Hamilton, from Transformation Institute, said that talks between the two organisations led to a Certificate III course in Individual Support Disability being offered, providing trainees with a pathway to employment and the start of a traineeship, 

“This is the perfect way to combine paid work with training, the training is delivered in a blended method in addition to practical work. The trainees will also gain a nationally recognized VET qualification delivered by Transformation Institute,” Ms Hamilton said.

“Kerry and Rose identified the growing skill shortage in the disability support sector in the Hunter and Upper Hunter leading them to enter in a partnership with Transformation Institute and Apprenticeship Support Australia to ensure that their staff are fully qualified and their NDIS clients can feel confident in their support workers abilities.”

Both the Salvation Army and Castle Personnel also assisted in placing the right candidates for the program.